[Android] Watch and download many TV shows for free with Show Box

One of the best things to do when you’re on vacation, on a road trip or just relaxing at home is to kick back and watch some good ol’ TV. Netflix and Hulu are great ways to watch movies and shows on your mobile devices no matter where you are. Every now and then a free offering crops up like Sony’s Crackle, but a lot of them offer utter crap in the way of good content. Don’t get me wrong, some of the free apps do offer a good show or movie here and there, but usually shows you would normally watch on TV are not available. That problem has changed completely with Show Box. The app description says it all, “amazing collection of TV-shows for free.”

What is it and what does it do

Main Functionality

Show Box is an Android application that offers you tons of content for streaming or download. Shows like Breaking Bad, Dexter, True Blood, The Walking Dead, The Simpsons, Suits, Under the Dome and much more are available. Needless to say there is a lot of excellent content in the catalog. I’m not entirely sure about the legality of an app like this, so it’s possible that Show Box will be removed from Google Play in the near future (please keep that in mind). It certainly does not appear like any of this content is officially licensed.

Pros

Allows you to stream and download TV episodes (for offline viewing)

There is an insane amount of content, if you like TV then you will find something of worth — guaranteed

The UI and interface is easy to navigate and minimal

You can choose streaming and download quality for all content

Two languages available Russian and English

Cons

May not be legal and might be removed from Play Store soon

It’s a streaming app so it uses an obscene amount of RAM and network data, thus draining the battery considerably faster

The advertisements can be quite obtrusive at times, although none appear while streaming

Discussion

Let me just start this review off with this: you can watch all sixteen seasons of Pokemon through Show Box. Alright, alright so I know Pokemon is not exactly everyone’s “thing,” but don’t worry there are plenty more shows available. Just to throw you a bone, you can also watch all three seasons of Game of Thrones. Pretty amazing, right?

Like I said above, I’m not entirely clear on the legality of an app like this. The content is clearly not officially licensed through the right parties, so it’s extremely possible this app will be removed from the Google Play store for copyright infringement. All the content offered through the app is available for streaming or download. Yep, you can download the shows directly to your device for offline viewing. Again, it’s not [strictly speaking] legal, so if you’re against using apps like this then you should probably meander off.

The interface is remarkably simple and minimal. Right when you load the application you will be presented with the full list of content available. Choosing a TV show in the list brings you to a related sub-menu where you can see a short description, choose from the different seasons available and select the episode you want to stream or download. Tapping on an episode will open another little popup menu, this allows you to choose the audio language (Russian or English), the streaming quality (low, middle, high) and whether you want to download the episode or stream it.

If you stream the episode, the content will begin playing almost immediately. If you download the episode, it will be added to your “downloads” list which is accessible via the side-menu.

During playback, I did notice a bit of lag here and there while the video quality was turned up all the way. I used the app at home during testing, and my internet connection is powered by Verizon Fios so that should give you some kind of example of the streaming quality. It’s comparable to Netflix and Hulu to be perfectly honest. I noticed that if I lowered the quality to medium, it reduces the video size but it did improve streaming performance.

Downloads take some time to complete, especially if you select high quality. Naturally, HD videos take up a lot more storage space than standard quality ones.

Advertisements are served up the entire time, no doubt generating a nice chunk of revenue for the developers. When browsing through show lists, the bottom placed banner can sometimes get in the way, especially when you’ve scrolled down to the very bottom of a list. It’s nothing you can’t work around, but it is certainly a bit aggravating at times. Smaller banners appear here and there when the pop-up windows appear.

It goes without saying I noticed a significant increase in battery drain while using the app. If I had to guess, I would say it’s much more demanding than Netflix or Hulu. Perhaps there’s a memory leak of some kind while using the app? It uses about 40MB of RAM while running, even while several downloads are active. Furthermore, streaming apps are notorious for eating through batteries like candy. This is because they require constant use of the display and network connections.

As a final note, if you enjoy watching TV there’s definitely a show available for you in the Show Box catalog. I would say that’s pretty much a certainty, if only because there’s so much content available.

Conclusion and download link

Show Box is a TV show streaming and download application for Android that offers a catalog filled with tons of high-profile content. You can find episodes of Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, South Park, Under the Dome, Suits, Dexter and so much more. Pretty much the entire series of each show is offered, and you can both stream online and download them for offline viewing as necessary. You can choose the quality out of three available options (low, medium and high), which also determines the file size when downloading. The app does drain the battery significantly while in use, and consumes a total of 40MB of RAM, but with a streaming app like this that’s to be expected.

Overall, if you love TV, then you will definitely find something for you in the Show Box catalog. That being said, the whole setup is probably not legal. I expect the app to be unavailable through Google Play soon, and you should as well. However, I don’t see why we can’t use it while it is still available on Play Store.

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About Briley Kenney

Briley is a tech/gaming journalist, and electronic gadget enthusiast. Briley writes for several online publications including Android Headlines, Blackberry Rocks, The Tech Labs and of course dotTech. His most recent project involved working on a turn based RPG called Tales of Illyria, which is now available in Google Play!

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FastTech Feed

It is showing Movie Loading Error whenever I try to play movies on Showbox

Alex

All ShuvBoks for all kinds of devices here showboxdownloadapps.com

Kim

Why is there chinese sub titles at bottom when streaming the movies.It was not there before.I want to remove the chinese sub title can anyone help on my samsung tablet

Kim

Where is there chinese subtitles when it sayno sub titlesIt is really annoying

Bigpenisblackboyfriend

Do u llike gruitfruit faggotfaggot

Bigpenisblackboyfriend

Come back to bed my faggy friend

terri

when i try to watch a movie it says i need to try another server. how do you change servers

jonny

Get a job and go to the movies like the rest of normal society that doesn’t scam the system. May you all be infected with viruses and polio.

Rodney

Why can I not watch the new movies on show box anymore? It just says the movie isn’t available

Beverly

I like it but when trying to watch certain movie it won’t load….

Elizabeth Oquendo

Every movie I watch has chinese subtitles even though it say the subtitles are off. Is there a way to fix that?

kamille foster

how can i download it to my wii console?!?!?

marc

Movies work perfect tv series will not download only able to watch

kian

Absolutely loved it when I first downloaded it now it’s telling me I can’t watch anything because I’ve warched to many things when I’ve only watched one thing!!! Click to download something doesn’t download poor quality!! Very disappointed

princess clark

When I do it does not work

lama

Hii I had show box for like half a month and it worked fine! but know it opens but whenever I click on a movie or a show to watch its all blank and it only says on top the info and add !to library the size or season s don’t show up and re downloaded it like 1000 times it still wont work help please!

Rvasquez

i just downloaded Showbox to my android, why do the movies i watch stop in the middle of a scene then start over from the beginning? ive had to start over the same movie about 4 times and fast fwd the part that it last stopped at so it wouldnt restart again? anyone know why it does that?

janice

I love show box. But when I try to fast forward or rewind to a certain part of the movie it starts the entire movie over again and when doing so it takes forever to start. This is on my tablet any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

lucid365

Yeah my showbox stopped updating so I deleted it and downloaded it again,when it loaded up it informed me that there was a new version asking me to update,so when it tried to update it said download error,now I have the same problem blank screen with no movies or shows showing!!!!!

Tracey

My showbox has stopped working. I have accepted the update and now i have no shows or movies just a blank screen and all my favourites have gone. Can anyone help. Thanks

Foxxy2828

[@lina s] TO LUNA In the beginning when i first got showbox i had that problem..it would stall, buffering- to go around that Download what you would like to see. I do it when im going to sleep, so it has all the speed of the internet from my phone with nothing else running. I do not have Wi-Fi i use the network data. Once the movies/shows are downloaded they will stay in “My Library” in the Showbox app. No buffering, No blips..just pure enjoyment.

lina s

I have showbox on my tablet. Im able to watch the movies but all it does is stalls every 2 seconds…..whats the problem?

Dom B

Show Box isn’t illegal. It is though removed fromthe Google Play Store. Streaming in this app isnt illegal, but downloading is. The app streams from foreign servers where anti-piracy laws don’t apply. Maybe use a VPN that’s not from the U.S when downloading.

Dom B

This ain’t illegal. Its hosted from foreign servers where anti-piracy laws don’t apply. You can stream the app, just don’t download anything. You can use a VPN, just make sure its not from the U.S.

g beverly

receive massage new update to show box click install update than new massage appeared show box has stop working. has anyone else had this problem

Noob

How do i download it??

az kat

Hi using showbox can you be taken to court it’s obvious that it’s illegal

anthony

[@y3vhn][@y3vhn] hi i keep trying every source to dl this app on to my galaxy and for what ever reason i can not get it to dl.. the phone say starting dl then nothing happens??? is there any suggestions you have or any way you could please be of help???

Eibhlin sharkey

Just downloaded the showbox app on my galaxy note 10.1….but the videos aren’t loading and won’t play Help?

bill

How do you get them to add the show Unsung to there catalog

bill

How do you get them to add the show Unsung

Inna A

How come there is now a limit to how many episodes of a show we can see per day?

Leo

[@mark] How do I download the movies to my external sd card on my cell….not enough memory on my internal sd..Thank You

sheri

[@y3vhn] So I had this on my galaxy and it stopped working. Just got the galaxy and still says I’m not connected to the internet, which I am…. suggestionz?

pgg

This has to be illegal but it’s awesome. I installed the Android APK on my BlackBerry10 Z30, plugged the HDMI cable to my TV, voila! Love this!!

y3vhn

@Brielle82 First off, good for you! I jailbreak and fix phones and unlock/set up android phones/tablets, and movie box /show box is part of my standard package that I install on all the devices. Back to business. Easiest thing to do, get chromecast. Stream show box to any TV through chromecast. It’s like 35 bucks.

Brielle82

All phones in my household have either Moviebox or Showbox..yes we are a blended family of Iphones and Android phones. However I was wondering…I have a jailbroken Wii (yes I know Wiis are pretty much obsolete) I was wondering if there is a way to put Moviebox/Showbox on the Wii that is in my daughters room?? And what about jailbroken Apple Tvs?? We love Moviebox/Showbox so much we just dont know what we would do without it.

Robert Bischoff

Can you download this onto the windows surface rt? I have this on my phone and just want to know if its available on my tablet.

Anita Francis

This Show box is fab,but I have noticed with the updates that some of the movies are already on and are being repeated…what’s that about?????

y3vhn

Show box only downloads on WiFi. Unless you use a VPN, you have to use WiFi. And the app must be open in order for it to download.

Eliza Higgins

Am trying to download movies, but it’s not downloading

michelle

where do you find the add on channels

Renae Francis

how do I turn off subtitles?

y3vhn

Hey, if you guys need help with the show box app, they are called Movie Box on ios, so you can find them on twitter under movie box. That’s the developers account of both movie and show box.https://twitter.com/moviebox_app

mark

How can I change the location of show-box down loads on my Android device, currently it goes to intenal storage, I would like to send the content to one of either the SD or MicroSD card obviously more storage capacity there.

jonney

I’m using my daughters tablet to download movies and nothing happens I can watch them no problem but when I try to download any the bar doesn’t move can someone help plz. And also I downloaded the movie non stop to my phone screen was blank but sound was there am I doing something wrong

Jamie fields

When I download a movie it says Audi data only… How do I fix this ??

krissoe

Does anyone know how to stream the showbox app from my tablet or android phone to my tv using xbox ?

paul Thompson

I purchased the small little boxes u can fit to the back of ya tv and showbox was installed. Never heard of it before and bought the box for the xmbc that was installed on it. Least to say hardly tried xmbc now I found showbox by far the best app I have ever used (tv streaming anyways) I am on the 3 network in uk so all my data is free on my mobile so ya drains my battery but love it. The past few days though I have found that the adverts start up and link me to the playstore on there own accord. Infuriating to say the least. Is there any way to stop this? It’s not as if I go near the link it just links to the app store all the time. I have re-installed the app but it ain’t worked. An ideas….

paul

I have showbox on my smartbox,the smart box turns my tv into a smart tv enabling it to download apps,so I downloaded showbox,first few weeks it worked without any freezing even if higher quality movies were chosen,then there was a string of updates,ever since then,it always freezes,this eases off if low quality is chosen but still it freezes no matter whAt,this app was so amazing starting off but is complete rubbish now,my direct line Ethernet speed is 100 meg on a non conjested line,it’s very fast,no matter what YouTube video I select I have never once seen it freezing,it’s only showbox,so there is something seriously wrong with showbox,

Akhenax

I guess my version of Showbox is too old, because it hasn’t worked for a very long time. I kept a backup of the apk, because I knew the Playstore would remove it. I guess I’ll go to the download link and get the apk. Does the app use ads to generate revenue? I’m trying to figure out why the app exists, and how it’s able to stay suppported by the developer.

The app as said above would get removed from the Play store soon which has been done. I luckily have found a download link which you can download it from: http://goo.gl/q5HpXt (Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq_y97-CuNo) which I promise is legit. You simply download the file, open it once downloaded and install the app which is self explanatory.

Today I went straight to their site and downloaded to my 7″ 2.3 android tablet using my ES file Mgr. Download worked. Had to force close and clear Data and Cache and then reopen. Very new movies ready to watch along with newest seasons of TV. Looking for app to stream to ROKU now.

Jake

John: to stream to your tv, the tv must support miracast (or airplay, but you know how Apple is) Otherwise you have to buy a adapter call Chromecast or Ipush. Xbox wont work.

MW: maybe you should try this, install show box, then use filé manager, move the installed folder to the SD card

Jenny: Go to “More” then “Order Movie”

jenn

Is there a way to suggest shows?

MW

I have a Samsung Galaxy 2… how can I set the external SD card as the default storage for show_box downloads?

thanks.

John

I’m trying to stream content from this app to my smart tv either directly or through xbox. Does anyone know how to do this?

[@akhenax] you can get it from there website downloading the apk package

akhenax

It was removed yesterday. A fantastic app.

Unamericanize Your Internet

Interesting app just a bit funny that you can’t watch the first (lower) one of a downloaded series because the play button is hidden behind a banner, but this may vary with the device you are using, mine is an Asus Fonepad. So the oldest download should be a random one you not want to watch, but that stays there to push the second one up, haha. Nice app anyway and when it’s eventually removed from Playstore it might be still available at Black Mart, but I wonder if it will be removed because the app of Vkontakte or vk.com the European Facebook who is involved in many legal cases because it hosts tons of illegal music and films, and it’s download addons are not being removed from Playstore either.